PASCAGOULA, Miss. (March 19, 2024) — HII’s (NYSE: HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division hosted U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl and officers on March 18 for a meeting with Ingalls leadership and a shipyard tour. Heckl is the deputy commandant of the Marine Corps for combat development and integration.

“Walking our ships with sailors and Marines always makes for a good day,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson said. “Our shipbuilders are committed to delivering amphibious ships to the fleet.”

Ingalls builds the San Antonio (LPD) and America (LHA) classes of amphibious warships. During the visit, Heckl had the opportunity to see first-hand the work taking place aboard amphibious assault ship Bougainville (LHA 8), and amphibious transport dock Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29).

“It was great to see the hard work and passion that the Ingalls team is putting into the amphibious construction lines,” Heckl said. “I’m pleased that we are moving forward with the existing Flight II design of the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships. As soon as they are delivered, our Marines will be ready to use them.”

Recently, the U.S. Navy announced their request to buy an LPD 17 Flight II ship in fiscal year 2025 and has plans to buy another LPD in fiscal year 2027 and again in fiscal year 2029.

“We are dedicated to the mission and are ready to support the strong demand signal we see for the ships we build,” Wilkinson said. “We appreciate the importance of these ships and are proud to build them.”

Currently, Ingalls has three LPDs under construction including the final transition ship Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29), the first Flight II LPD Harrisburg (LPD 30), and Pittsburgh (LPD 31). Ingalls also has under contract the third LPD Flight II, Philadelphia (LPD 32). Additionally, Ingalls has two large-deck amphibious ships under construction, Bougainville (LHA 8) and Fallujah (LHA 9).

Designed and built for survivability and flexibility, U.S. Navy amphibious ships are unique combat warships that make possible complex joint U.S. military operations to respond swiftly to crises anywhere in the world, from deterrence and major combat operations to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.